The Prime Minister of Japan, Ishiba, visited the Czech National Pavilion at EXPO 2025 as the first foreign state
The Czech National Pavilion hosted an exceptionally rare visit over the weekend. The Prime Minister of Japan, Shigeru Ishiba, became the first international leader to visit the Czech pavilion at EXPO 2025, and so far, the only one. Over the weekend, the World EXPO grounds on Yumeshima Island also opened to the public for the first time as part of a trial run, welcoming around 90,000 people, according to preliminary figures from Japan News. Due to the Prime Minister’s visit, the Czech pavilion was open for just half a day on Sunday. Despite the short time, nearly 10,000 people visited, and 1,200 beers were sold within just a few hours.
“I am truly excited that Prime Minister Ishiba chose the Czech Pavilion for his visit, which reflects the theme of sustainability and CLT technologies, whose use in construction he has long supported. The Prime Minister praised the architectural complexity of the building and expressed his belief that the Czech National Pavilion will become a popular destination for visitors from all over the world. He also appreciated the rich program of cultural and business events, which, according to him, will contribute to further deepening cooperation between Czechia and Japan. To conclude his visit, he enjoyed traditional Czech cuisine during lunch at the CTP Lounge on the pavilion’s roof,” said Ondřej Soška, the General Commissioner of the Czech participation at EXPO 2025, about the details of the meeting.
Prime Minister Ishiba was accompanied by his wife Yoshiko Ishiba, the president of the Japanese construction company Daisue Kazunori Murao, and the Czech honorary consul in Sakai, Kazumasa Kuzumura. During the visit to the permanent exhibition, the Prime Minister left his signature on the wall as a memento and drew the popular Japanese character Oba Q for visitors. He also appreciated the Czech participation mascot, René. For lunch, the menu included mushroom dill soup, dumplings filled with smoked meat, sweet buns with vanilla custard, and Pilsner Urquell.
Over the weekend, the entire EXPO area also held a trial operation. Thanks to this, the Czech team received valuable feedback from visitors and is working on implementing the insightful suggestions. However, many participating countries did not open their pavilions over the weekend because they had not yet completed the approval process or received the final approval decision, or were still preparing for the official opening. Czechia received its approval decision last week and is among the first countries to have a certified pavilion, despite its exceptionally demanding construction with no precedent in Japan. The World EXPO 2025 starts on Sunday, April 13, 2025, and will last for the following six months.
About the Czech Pavilion at EXPO 2025 In December 2022, after more than twenty years, the Office of the Commissioner General announced an open, anonymous architectural competition to design the National Pavilion for EXPO 2025. Thirty-eight studios have participated, and in March 2023 a jury of experts led by the world-renowned architect Eva Jiřičná selected the winning design: a glass spiral by Apropos Architects. The main structure of the building will be made of modern wood panels, while the façade will feature art glass, which has a centuries-old tradition in Czechia. The National Pavilion, which will be located on the artificial island of Yumeshima in Osaka Bay from April to October 2025, will provide a prestigious setting for Czech participation at EXPO 2025. The pavilion will house a permanent exhibition, a multifunctional auditorium, facilities for business meetings, restaurants, a CTP lounge, and a relaxation area overlooking the sea.
About the Czech participation at EXPO 2025 This will be the sixth time that Czechia has taken part in a world exhibition as an independent state. Ondřej Soška, who won the Ministry of Foreign Affairs selection process with his concept and theme "Talent and Creativity for Life", has been serving as Commissioner General since September 2022. Czechia aims to showcase not only what the Japanese already know and admire, such as Czech glass and classical music, but above all Czech innovations, nanotechnologies, promising start-ups and talent from the regions.
